Laura's Son
by Hobsonfan
Summary: In the episode "Ramblin Boy", Laura says that Professor Emma Barnes is unlikely to be able to adopt a baby, being a single woman in her mid 40s with a history of recent child bereavement. The comment sounded like it was made by someone who is a mother herself. This is my take on why we have never met Laura's son. Hints of Lewis/Hobson when Robbie has that dinner at Laura's house.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction, not for profit, story. I don't own these characters, just borrowing them from LEWIS. Laura's son Ronan is completely made up by me.**

Inspector Robbie Lewis was one of the few people in Oxford who knew that Dr. Laura Hobson had a son. Robbie knew that Laura met Ronan Patrick Macpherson, known as Mac, in medical school and became pregnant with his child. He also knew that Mac died before the child was born but Laura never told him the circumstances. Robbie never pressed her for details other than assuring her that he would be available if she ever wanted to talk about it. He was grateful for Laura's support after Val died and she was the only person he could talk to about his late wife.

Laura's son, Ronan Macpherson Hobson, was now a young man in medical school himself. When he was born, Laura's father hired a nanny to mind the child while Laura completed medical school and her training. She spent as much time with him as she could and tried to be a good mother. She was very generous in the time she allowed him to stay with his paternal grandparents. They had lost their only son and wanted to be involved with their grandson.

Laura didn't have time for a social life until Ronan started school and then spent many of his holidays with his grandparents. When Ronan was 6, she entered into a relationship with an accountant she met in the produce section of the grocer. They didn't have the same chemistry that she and Mac had but Laura was lonely and he was a nice man who was fun to be with. Laura didn't want to introduce him to Ronan until she was sure this would be a long-term relationship.

One weekend Ronan's grandparents returned him to Laura's flat a day early. They neglected to tell Laura that would arrive on Saturday, not Sunday. They entered the flat to find Laura and the accountant in the middle of a sexual encounter. After much embarrassment, yelling, and crying, the grandparents accused Laura of being an unfit mother. In order to avoid being sued for custody by the grandparents Laura agreed to allow them to essentially raise the boy with her having visitation. Ronan already spent a lot of time with his grandparents and always seemed happier when he was with them. And Laura didn't think a nasty court case would benefit the boy. She ended the relationship with the accountant and moved to Oxford to start a new life.

Laura spent less time with her son the older he got. She got Ronan settled into school each term, attended parent days and meetings with the headmaster when he got into trouble. Laura never said anything negative about the grandparents but wasn't sure they did the same for her. Over the years Ronan heard embellished stories about his dead father and grew to idolize the man he never met. He blamed Laura for his father's death without knowing any of the details.

The one bright spot each year was an annual ski trip to Switzerland Laura took with Ronan and her father, the senior Dr. Hobson. Ronan loved skiing and his paternal grandparents did not ski. He adored his maternal grandfather and Laura and her father were very close so for one week each year, they had fun as a family.

Robbie met the teenaged Ronan once when he was staying with Laura while his grandparents were away attending the funeral of a friend. He thought the boy was surly and disrespectful of his mother, calling her "Laura" instead of "Mum". So it was with great trepidation that Robbie had to call the now young adult Ronan after Laura was nearly buried alive by the twins who murdered Ligeia Willard (Falling Darkness).

Robbie was late getting to Laura in the hospital. He tried to apologize for not trusting and protecting her during the ordeal. Laura was just grateful to be alive and told Robbie they would sort it out after she was released from the hospital. Robbie told Laura he had to call Ronan in as her next of kin as her father was just recovering from pneumonia and her brother was in Canada on business. The boy insisted on coming to see his mother and Robbie sent James Hathaway to pick him up.


	2. Chapter 2

Sergeant James Hathaway looked over at the tall, red headed young man in the passenger seat. Hathaway still couldn't believe that Dr. Hobson had a son. He could believe that if only one person in Oxford knew about him, it would be his boss, Inspector Lewis. He wondered what other secrets Lewis and Hobson shared.

The young man, Ronan Hobson, had spoken just once on the trip. That was to berate Hathaway and the entire police force for nearly allowing his mother to be killed. The rest of the trip he sat with his mouth clamped shut and his arms tight around his chest. As they neared Oxford, Hathaway asked him if he wanted to stop at his mother's house and pack a bag for her or if he would like a female officer to do it. Ronan responded that he didn't want a stranger pawing through her things and he would do it himself.

They stopped at Laura's house and Ronan went upstairs to his mother's room. He was a bit unsure of what to pack and almost regretted refusing the offer of a policewoman's help. So he opened drawers and grabbed an assortment of clothes and put them in a bag without looking at them very carefully. He picked up her purse from the front hall figuring it might have things she would need. He was silent again the rest of the way to the hospital.

Ronan gave the bag and purse to Hathaway and said he would talk to the doctor first before he saw "Laura". Inspector Lewis heard him refer to his mother this way and cringed. He pointed at Ronan down the hall and asked Hathaway, "How is he"? "Angry", said Hathaway. "At his mother"? Lewis asked incredulously? "No" said Hathaway, "not at her, at us, the police".

Ronan stomped down the hall, grabbing the bag and purse on his way past them to Laura's room. Lewis and Hathaway followed a few steps behind worried about how Ronan would behave toward his mother. Straining their ears they heard a surprisingly soft voice utter, "Mum, are you all right?"


	3. Chapter 3

Laura assured Ronan that she was physically fine. After that they said little to each other. Ronan sat in a chair next to her bed all night alternately scowling and glaring at anyone who entered the room. Laura was given something to help her sleep.

In the morning Ronan left the room so his mother could get dressed to go home. Laura looked in the bag he brought for her. It contained two blouses, a pair of flip flops, pajama bottoms, and three pairs of socks. At least her purse had some useful items. She had a nurse bring her some scrubs and put them on. Ronan didn't seem to notice that except for the flip flops, Laura wasn't wearing the clothes he brought.

Ronan had already refused the offer of a lift from the police and hired a car to take them home. He told Laura he was given two days off from school to stay with her. Robbie watched them get in the car and hoped that Laura would call him if she needed anything. He wondered why she was wearing scrubs and flip flops, knowing that her son stopped at the house and packed a bag for her. He hoped that she wasn't too sore from her injuries to dress properly.

Two days later Ronan left to go back to school in the morning before Ligeia Willard's funeral. After the service Laura went for a walk with Robbie to "blow the cobwebs". They squared things between themselves and each resolved to get their friendship back on track. Then Robbie asked how things went with Ronan looking after her for two days. She said they shared toasted cheese sandwiches and talked about medical school. Ronan revealed that he had been thinking about how difficult it must have been for her, going to medical school and being a single mother. Robbie thought it was about time that Ronan appreciated his mother.

Laura told Robbie that right before he left, Ronan let it be known that someday he would like her to tell him more about his father, especially the circumstances around his death. His grandparents had left him with the impression that his mother was partially at fault. Laura thought to herself that before she told her son, she would have to share the story with Robbie first, to see if she could get through the telling of it.


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks after Ligeia Willard's funeral, Laura took James Hathaway out for a drink to thank him for jumping into the grave to rescue her and for waiting with her until she was transported to the hospital. Hathaway knew that she was aware that he had met Ronan. She said nothing about her son during the hour they spent together at the bar. He instinctively felt that Dr. Hobson was as reluctant to talk about her son as Inspector Lewis was to talk about his wife. He was glad they had each other to confide in.

Laura and Ronan started speaking by phone more frequently. They made plans to go skiing together after Christmas even though this year the senior Dr. Hobson would be unable to go with them due to ill health.


	5. Chapter 5

In the year following Ligeia Willard's funeral Laura and Robbie remained close friends. Laura sometimes wished that they could have a more intimate relationship but she knew that Robbie wasn't ready and didn't push it.

Laura felt something was missing in her life and when an old boyfriend from her early days in Oxford called, she agreed to have dinner with him. At first she thought the guilty feelings she had after going out with him again were because he was the one she turned to in the years when she was most estranged from her son. Then she realized she felt guilty about seeing Franco because of Robbie. In either case neither Ronan nor Robbie should have had any cause to begrudge her seeing Franco. Even so, Laura gave up the chance to reconcile with Franco, thinking she had to protect both her son and her best friend.

Shortly after that Ronan turned up for a visit and told Laura that he never should have resented her years ago for having a relationship with another man after his father died. He might not like it, but she had the right to a personal life. Laura said she did fancy someone now but was reluctant to do anything about it. Her son gave her a look that Laura herself often gave to people, the one that silently commanded "well, get on with it then".

Soon after her talk with Ronan, Laura invited Robbie to come to her house for dinner the next Friday.


	6. Chapter 6

Laura and Robbie were both nervous about dinner that Friday night. They each wondered if it was possible for their friendship to evolve into a more intimate relationship. Over dinner they talked about the old days with Inspector Morse finding it easier to visit the past rather than explore the future. Robbie helped clear the table after dinner.

As he was passing from the dining room into the kitchen he noticed a small framed photograph on a bookcase. He grinned as he saw Ronan with the usual surly look on his face. Then he realized the person next to Ronan looked like Laura as a young woman. He was staring at the photograph as Laura headed back to the dining room. "That's not Ronan, it's Mac", Laura said. "And me", she added. Laura could see Robbie registering the fact that Ronan was now the spitting image of this photograph of his father.

And then the whole story came pouring out.


	7. Chapter 7

Robbie listened carefully as Laura told her story. She and Mac were first year medical students having a passionate affair. They signed up to go on a humanitarian mission to a war torn country during their summer break. Both were idealistic and fearless. On the way to their assigned aid station they passed hundreds of dead bodies on the road.

A couple of weeks before they were to return home Laura confirmed that she was pregnant. Her first thought was that two medical students should be smart enough not to let this happen. Her second more serious thought was whether or not she should keep the child. Mac insisted that they were too young to be parents and that he wasn't ready to be responsible for another person. Laura wasn't sure how she felt about it and planned to return home early and discuss it with her father. She wanted Mac to come home with her but he insisted on staying until the end of the assignment.

The night before Laura was to leave for home, she found out that Mac volunteered to go on a dangerous 3 day trip to another aid station to deliver supplies. Laura was on her way to try and talk him out of it when she was grabbed by two men and raped. Mac left on the mission not knowing Laura had been attacked. She didn't give Robbie any details of her ordeal except to say that the only thing she thought about was the survival of her child.

Laura's father made sure she got home safely. Then she found out that Mac had been killed when the vehicle he was riding in hit a roadside bomb. After allowing herself a few weeks to grieve and heal, Laura resolutely decided that she was going to both have her baby and finish medical school. It was the memory of so many unclaimed dead bodies that inspired Laura to become a forensic pathologist.

Robbie was filled with emotion after listening to Laura's story. He hugged her for several minutes then told her she was the strongest person he knew, to survive that and accomplish all that she had done in her life. He thought about how he fell apart after Val died and relied on Laura's strength.

"You know why I'm never home on Thursday nights"? Laura asked him. "Orchestra practice?" Robbie answered, confused by the question. "Rehearsal", Laura corrected him. "Then I go volunteer at a rape crisis center". Robbie was again amazed at Laura's ability to put other people's needs ahead of her own.

Up to this point Laura's voice was well controlled and she hadn't shed a tear. Now she was starting to tremble and Robbie held her tighter. They both realized that right now Laura needed him to be her friend, that it wasn't the time for them to change their relationship.


	8. Chapter 8

Laura eventually told Ronan about his father's death, leaving out the details she thought would hurt him. Their mother and son relationship continued to evolve. She still rarely talked about him to any of her friends and colleagues in Oxford, too much to explain. Except to Robbie of course, where no explanations were needed.


End file.
